China's ruling Communist Party has published a list of the country's top 100 private-sector business leaders, with Dalian Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin's name notably omitted.The compilation, which amounts to a semi-official checklist of who is in Beijing’s good graces, was published Thursday. According to the South China Morning Post, the executives are noted for their “great achievements in the development of the private economy” in the 40 years since the country chose to open up economically. They are not ranked...
Tencent Holdings
Pony
Ma
Co-Founder / Chairman / CEO
Ma is more low-key than Alibaba founder Jack Ma, but he’s no less a strategic thinker. Ma founded Tencent in 1998 by copying a foreign messaging service that became QQ. Since listing in Hong Kong in 2004, Tencent has become the tech firm even Mark Zuckerberg hopes to emulate thanks to its globally ubiquitous WeChat, which combines the functions of WhatsApp, Instagram, Skype, Uber, Deliveroo and Venmo in one platform and claims a billion-plus monthly users. While its gaming arm is the world’s largest by revenue, there have been some struggles of late over regulatory matters. Critics wonder if the behemoth can keep innovating, but there’s no doubting Ma’s will or ability to invest massively in tech as well as Chinese and Hollywood entertainment.